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Harman loses ground at Heritage

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Brian Harman might have set some sort of unofficial record for tap-in pars Saturday in the third round of the RBC Heritage.

He parred every hole on the front nine, making no putt longer than 2 feet, 1 inch including four short strokes in the 4-9-inch range. The Savannah native had five more pars on the back nine, none longer than 9 inches from the cup.

“I’ve had plenty of those. Those don’t get you paid,” Harman said after his high round of the tournament, a 3-over-par 74 to drop to 2 over going into today’s final round at Harbour Town Golf Links.

“I played a lot better than I scored,” said Harman, 25, a rookie on the PGA Tour. “I got some tough breaks. That shot on No. 9 that hit the flag, that’s just the way it was. It wasn’t my day. There’s nothing you can do but keep your head up, go eat some lunch, go practice, and, hopefully, it’s a little bit better tomorrow.”

The best it got Saturday was a birdie on the par-3, 192-yard No. 14. He sank a 15-foot, 7-inch putt to do it.

“I’d love to talk about my only birdie today. That would be sweet,” Harman said with a smile. “I hit a really good 7-iron. I had a good look at it. Just snuck it in the right edge. I thought there was wrapper on top of the hole all day today, it seemed like. That was a good hole, the one good hole today.”

Harman had three birdies en route to an even-par 71 on Thursday. He sank six birdies over a nine-hole stretch in carding a 70 on Friday. He was tied for 24th at 1 under after 36 holes.

The course wasn’t as generous Saturday. In fact, he lost ground with bogeys at 10 and 12, and a double bogey at the par-4, 373-yard 13th hole, where he recorded par the first two rounds.

No payoff

“I hit some really good shots,” Harman said. “I executed about as well as I could. I hit maybe two or three loose shots all day, and they all ended up in bad places. That’s what this place will do to you if you’re not careful.”

One of his good shots was the aforementioned shot that hit the flagstick at No. 9 but rolled away.

“It was just a little too good, I guess,” Harman said. “I still had a good look at it there, and didn’t hit a very good putt. I had some opportunities I let get away from me. I tried my best, and I’ll try my best tomorrow.”

Being a good distance from the leaders, Harman might use today’s tournament round to change a few things and see what works. He has been playing aggressively and might be less so today.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “This place is giving me fits every time I’ve played out here. I haven’t quite beaten it yet.

“I felt like I played pretty well today and got nothing out of it.”

He does feel rewarded by the enthusiastic support of family, friends and acquaintances from Savannah who have cheered for him at the closest PGA Tour event to his hometown. After his round Saturday, he gladly greeted fans and signed autographs.

“Having everyone out has just been great,” said Harman, a former standout at Savannah Christian and the University of Georgia. “Maybe I put a little too much pressure on myself trying to play well. Thanks to everybody for coming out. It’s been a blast so far.”